The Brat Wagon is back, thanks to a local club

When the Westerville Sertoma found it would no longer be able to bring its much-anticipated Brat Wagon around to community events, the Rotary Club of Westerville bought it with the well-being of the community in mind.

“The Westerville Sertoma Brat Wagon has been around for an extremely long time and was very popular in the community,” says Rotary member John Oleyar. “Westerville Sertoma could no longer staff the wagon and wished to sell the concession unit to another community organization in hopes of creating a scholarship fund.”

After a smooth transaction and a few quick repairs, the club opened the concession unit to the public. To have a larger presence in the community, the concession unit appears at events such as Mount Carmel St. Ann’s 4th Fridays, the Independence Day Celebration, the Rotary Honors Veterans 5K Walk/Run and the city’s Tree Lighting Ceremony.

“We’ve had a great number of people volunteer within the club,” says Rotarian Ellen Cathers, who’s in charge of staffing the concession unit. “They truly enjoy working the unit. It’s very family centered.”

The unit offers hot dogs, bratwursts, Italian sausages, popcorn, potato chips and a variety of drinks. At special events such as the Tree Lighting and 5K, the unit serves hot drinks for attendees who may need warmed up.

In the future, Cathers says, Rotary may take the unit to more events, increasing its presence throughout the community. Also, she says, the club hopes to hold more fundraisers with the concession unit to provide more scholarships, expanding upon what Rotary already offers, to the next generation of leaders in the Westerville community.

“We add in the love for our community, grill with care for our future and serve up an abundance of kindness," says Cathers. “This will always be a food unit and we will continue to have a presence in Westerville in the coming years.”

Laura Baird is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.

Recipe: Rotary Club of Westerville’s Italian Burgers

From club president Lisa Janszen

Ingredients

1 ½ lb. ground beef

½ cup chopped white onion, sautéed

½ cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

1 tsp. kosher salt

3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp. milk

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

6-8 slices provolone cheese (optional)

6-8 Tbsp. marinara sauce (optional)

Instructions

Sautée onions, then mix ingredients together. Grill.

Can be topped with a slice of provolone cheese and 1 Tbsp. of marinara sauce each (optional). Yields 6-8 burgers.

New at the Independence Day parade

The Rotary Club of Westerville, which coordinates the community’s Independence Day celebration every summer, is incorporating a new component into the parade this year.

With a goal to honor local first responders, the club is calling on community organizations, businesses and nonprofits to build floats thanking first responders for their service and compassion toward the Westerville community. The club also encourages organizations to invite families of first responders to ride on the floats during the parade.

Community organizations and nonprofits can enter their floats free of charge, with others having a $100 entrance fee. For more information, visit www.westervillerotary.com.